This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content here are presented solely by the author, and The Times of Israel assumes no responsibility for them. In case of abuse, report this post.

Reflections on Rosh Hashana: Focusing on Tomorrow While Remembering Yesterday

Blogger

Gidon Herschander
Gidon Herschander made aliyah in August 2015 and currently lives in Jerusalem Israel. He loves Torah, living in Israel, engaging
… [More]and posting via social media, and blogging about Aliyah, Life In Israel, Torah, Being young and a variety of other topics [Less]

A key part of our service to GOD (our avodah) during the time period we currently find ourselves in of Rosh Hashana, this Shabbat Shuva, the rest of the ten days of repentance (the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah) and Yom Kippur is one of teshuvah or repentance. An important aspect of Teshuvah is both looking towards a brighter future and reflecting on the past.

One place where we see this outlook of Teshuvah being both future and past focused is in thein the Rambam’s (Maimonides) laws of Teshuvah. Here the Rambam writes about two important aspects of Teshuvah. One of the aspects the Rambam mentions is regretting our past misdeeds and the other is looking towards a brighter future were we set a goal for ourselves to not sin in this manner in the future.

Another example of the importance of being both past and future focused when doing Teshuvah is in this weeks parsha. Early in the parsha, Moshe tells the Jewish people to “Remember the days of old and reflect upon the years of other generations,” (Devarim 32:7). Rashi quoting the Sifrei, also interprets this verse as a lesson for us to not only focus on the past generations, their misdeeds and the importance of learning from their mistakes, but also to recognize how GOD has not only punished us in the past but will give us tremendous blessing in the future during the days of Moschiach.

May we take these lessons to heart in order to help us have a more meaningful Rosh Hashana, Aseret Yemei Teshuvah and Yom Kippur experience as well as help us do Teshuvah at the highest of levels where we not only regret our past misdeeds but think how we can improve in the future during this period and throughout the coming year.

I have enjoyed sharing Divrei Torah with all of you my dear Rebbeim and friends during the past year. At this time I ask for forgiveness if I ever did not edit any of my Divrei Torah properly or if at any time any of the points I made were unclear.

Have a wonderful sweet and fantastic year and Kitiva Vechatima Tova Lealtar Chayim Tovim Uleshalom(May we all be inscribed in the book of life for eternal life of goodness and peace).

To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

By signing up, you agree to our
terms
You hereby accept The Times of Israel Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and you agree to receive the latest news & offers from The Times of Israel and its partners or ad sponsors.